Deborah Hailey, a Fairhope resident of 31 years, experienced her first hurricane in 1995 when Hurricane Opal hit the coast. Despite the severity of what may come, Hailey said it’s just kind of routine.
“I went and filled up the car with gas yesterday,” Hailey said. “We always keep cash in hand. Always have cash. Went to the grocery (store). Got a few things. Tomorrow, we’ll put away the patio furniture and secure the trash cans.”
Hailey was sitting outside of Page & Palette in downtown Fairhope, chatting with a friend and drinking coffee on a partly cloudy afternoon. However, within the next 24 hours, Hurricane Isaias will make landfall along the Gulf Coast, with state of emergencies being declared and evacuations taking place within Baldwin County and other areas as communities brace for impact.
Hailey said she typically doesn’t worry unless it turns into a Category 3 storm, but she did acknowledge the unpredictability these types of storms bring, recalling when Hurricane Sally ravaged the area in 2020.
“With Sally, they told us there was nothing to be concerned about,” Hailey said. “We went to bed that night thinking that we were past the severity of it and then in the middle of the night, we woke up to a tree crashing onto our house, so really, you don’t know. You just have to go with what they give you and make your own determination of what you’re gonna do.”
Other Fairhopians who remember Sally include Shelley Springer, a local realtor who operates The Fairhope Hotel in downtown Fairhope, which is within walking distance from Fairhope Pier and Mobile Bay, with the bay being at the heart of the impact of Hurricane Isaias when it arrives on the Gulf Coast late Friday night.
“I had moved into my new house the day before and woke up to the entire alley blocked by trees,” Springer said. “This preparation, we are putting fabric over the restored historic windows and we have a huge generator that will run the entire hotel, so we are prepared for the worst.”
Despite the building itself being over 100 years old, having opened over the summer after extensive renovations, Springer said she is not worried at all.
“I feel like this building has seen the worst storms that have come through the area and mainly just watching the trees and any kind of flying debris,” Springer said, who said she will be secured in the hotel when the storm hits.
As Hurricane Isaias is anticipated to make landfall within the next day, several establishments and restaurants along the Eastern Shore are preparing for the worst, bringing furniture inside, installing shutters and transferring food into freezers.
One of those places is The Blind Tiger in Fairhope. Unlike other establishments along Mobile Bay that have simpler access to its entrance, The Blind Tiger, which opened in 2024, is unique in that it is only accessible through the Fairhope Pier, meaning the establishment’s operations are very weather dependent.
Hurricane Isaias will effectively shut down the establishment for most of the weekend while it passes through, with Isabelle Morris, general manager for The Blind Tiger, saying they will be closed Friday and Saturday. Morris, 25, was born and raised in Fairhope, but said she only remembers Hurricane Sally.
“The only difference between Sally and this one is Sally kind of came and it sat on top of us for hours that night, so we weren’t expecting that,” Morris said. “We’re kind of expecting that with this one so I think everybody is more mentally prepared for that.”
Next door, in the neighboring city of Daphne, other establishments are also preparing for impact. Despite the dangers it may bring, some in Daphne are not worried about the impending weather.
Having lived in the area for around two years, Deana Hale, general manager for Moe’s Original BBQ in Daphne, located a short walk down the street from Bayfront Park, said she doesn’t feel as worried as she probably should.
“I don’t know,” Hale said when asked why. “Probably based on just what my staff tells me that’s lived here year-round. That’s kind of what I’m basing it on.”
Hale is originally from Nashville, Tennessee, saying that although living down on the coast is different, she has also faced other kinds of severe storms while living in the Music City.
“It’s different for sure, but in Nashville, you run into ice and snow, and that’s kind of your big storm of the year, and then here, it’s this,” Hale said. “I mean everywhere’s got their own deal.”
Just a five-minute drive away, situated on Mobile Bay is The Waterfront, where Cori Gaston is the general manager. She grew up in Mobile and said the first hurricane she remembers was Hurricane Frederic, which made contact with the Gulf Coast in 1979.
The Waterfront, which opened in 2023, is located directly on the bay line of Mobile Bay next to the D’Olive Bay Ramp. However, Gaston noted that other restaurants under PP Hospitality Group, which owns The Waterfront along with other establishments Sunset Pointe, located in Fairhope, and Ed’s Seafood Shed, which was located on the causeway in Spanish Fort before closing in 2025, have withstood the hurricanes and storms that have come through the area.
“I think this is going to be a really bad storm for us,” Gaston said. “ I don’t think it’s gonna be that major but, you know, that being said, it’s whenever you think something’s gonna be light, then it turns out to be something stronger, so we’re gonna be prepared for the worst, but hope for the best.”
